Tiny Bubbles
Contributor
Barge explodes, sinks in Chicago
Vessel believed to be carrying 500,000 gallons of slurry oil
Thursday, January 20, 2005 Posted: 9:13 AM EST (1413 GMT)
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A barge carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of a gooey petroleum byproduct exploded, caught fire and sank Wednesday in a ship channel on the city's southwest side, an environment official said.
Crews were trying Wednesday night to determine how much of the substance might have spilled into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which connects the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.
A boiler on the barge apparently exploded, igniting the clarified slurry oil, said Illinois Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Maggie Carson.
She said initial estimates indicated the barge was carrying about 13,000 barrels, or more than 500,000 gallons.
Clarified slurry oil normally has the consistency of honey and becomes thicker in cold water, which could lessen any environmental damage, Carson said.
"When a substance is more liquid it spreads farther," she said. "When it congeals or hardens it's easier to gather and remove."
She said Egan Marine Corp. operated the barge and the company would be responsible for any cleanup.
A woman who answered the phone at the company in the Chicago suburb of Lemont said she had no comment.
source: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/20/barge.fire.ap/index.html
Vessel believed to be carrying 500,000 gallons of slurry oil
Thursday, January 20, 2005 Posted: 9:13 AM EST (1413 GMT)
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A barge carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of a gooey petroleum byproduct exploded, caught fire and sank Wednesday in a ship channel on the city's southwest side, an environment official said.
Crews were trying Wednesday night to determine how much of the substance might have spilled into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which connects the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.
A boiler on the barge apparently exploded, igniting the clarified slurry oil, said Illinois Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Maggie Carson.
She said initial estimates indicated the barge was carrying about 13,000 barrels, or more than 500,000 gallons.
Clarified slurry oil normally has the consistency of honey and becomes thicker in cold water, which could lessen any environmental damage, Carson said.
"When a substance is more liquid it spreads farther," she said. "When it congeals or hardens it's easier to gather and remove."
She said Egan Marine Corp. operated the barge and the company would be responsible for any cleanup.
A woman who answered the phone at the company in the Chicago suburb of Lemont said she had no comment.
source: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/20/barge.fire.ap/index.html
